The Climate Bills That Weren’t [A Eulogy]

August 9, 2018

As tradition dictates, the Climate XChange editorial team has composed this eulogy to the late climate and clean energy bills of the Massachusetts’ 190th legislative session (born 2017—died 2018). So let us reflect upon the life and death of the policies that were, but no longer are, with us.

Reflecting on all your achievements we must also thank your legislative champions in the House and the Senate, as well as the diverse coalition of organizations which supported you every step of the way.

Alas! When your time of judgement in the House approached you were left on the chopping block by the masters of Beacon Hill. We look forward to celebrating your third coming, and promise to honor your memory with future carbon pricing success.

As a Commonwealth, we could have helped by giving you the freedom to net meter as you wished, an antidote to your ills. But while your advocates did everything we could to treat you, your enemy’s aim was achieved through delay.

On July 31st when the clock struck midnight on Beacon Hill (1:12am in the real world) you succumbed to the fate of so many other bills. As was aptly said by the statehouse savant Ben Downing, neglecting bills to the last minute means “special interests defending the status quo have an outsized voice….They are able to kill [bills]… simply because the legislature waited till it was too late.”

Do not fret, friends of solar! The day will come when sunlight breaks the shadows and its rays spread across this Commonwealth, glowing bright with a clean energy future. Please continue fighting.

Appliance Efficiency, You Burned So Bright.

While your length and technical language made for a challenging read, your bill summary promised comprehensive additions to the Commonwealth’s energy and water efficiency efforts. After a long wait for your public hearing, few but your staunchest advocates believed you had what it took to be voted on this session.

We will think of you every time we turn on a light and flush a toilet.

Transportation Emissions, We Will Not Forget You.

We will not forget you, even if you were forgotten this session. There were many ways one could have addressed you, including incentivizing EVs, pricing your carbon, or promoting charging stations. But instead the masters of Beacon Hill decided to shirk their responsibility to you, endangering our goals.

Addressing you meant addressing our number one source of CO2e pollution. In passing, know that you are not out of mind, and that we intend to redouble our efforts and champion your name in the session to come.

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